The Prime Minister, John Howard, will on Thursday make public the details of the Federal Government's IR agenda, after it was endorsed last night by Cabinet.
As Federal Cabinet this afternoon resumes considering its second wave of IR change, an AIG survey has revealed that large manufacturing companies strongly support the introduction of pre-strike ballots and measures to curb pattern bargaining.
Kemalex, the plastics manufacturer mired in a bitter bargaining dispute with the NUW that has led to a 26-day strike, has today broken its silence, saying it is being used as a political football and that it is not forcing employees to become individual contractors.
The ETU (Qld & NT branch) will spend more than $1 million over the next two years on campaigns against the Federal Government's proposed IR changes, with the first phase of action to begin next month.
A month after a sub-group of Victorian construction industry employers and the CFMEU signed off on their pattern deal, they are still waiting for a decision from DEWR on whether it complies with the Federal Government's code of practice for the construction industry. The MBA in NSW is also still waiting on the department to give final clearance to the two separate deals the CFMEU in that state is pushing, while in developments in Queensland, the IRC will arbitrate the dispute over the union's move to change RDOs for building workers, which is causing disruption on sites around the state.
Former CEPU P&T NSW branch industrial officer Peter Jones has failed in his bid for an audit of the union, after the AIRC found he wasn't acting in good faith and that he had no grounds for suspecting a breach.
The AIRC has questioned why Coles Supermarkets Australia provided only a little more than half of 11 minutes of security video footage of a sacked checkout operator as evidence in an unfair dismissal case.
Some 150 employees of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School have secured a day off each year for industry-related activities such as film festivals, plus a day of health and wellness leave, in their new certified agreement.
Skilled labour shortage the biggest supply constraint in construction, says survey; Salary survey suggests pay pushing up; 84% of non-permanent employees believe they are truly casual, says ABS; More US employers outsourcing key HR functions; Smith attacks linking of water funding to IR practices; and Andrews sets out his objectives for changing agreement-making.